FOXBORO – The practices before this week were built to favor the offense. Without pads on, people usually call these days ‘passing camp.’ There’s no contact allowed. Cornerbacks can’t jam receivers. In many drills, these defensive backs are wearing big pads on their hands. That makes it so they can’t hold, but also makes it easier for receivers to get open.
For those reasons, the Patriots first week of training camp was concerning when the defense outperformed Mac Jones’ offensive group for three-straight practices.
This past spring, Jones completed 87% (59/68) of his passes against the Patriots defense in competitive drills.